Rewind in the Name of Hope and Despair
by Moonlight-Ray0425
Summary: There seems to be something wrong in the Danganronpa Universe. Characters that were never supposed to meet are meeting in Hope's Peak Academy, events that were supposed to happen are happening differently, and why is it that whenever a certain person dies, everything starts over? This was inspired by a DR roleplay, so all the events in this story happened there.


It was supposed to be a day of absolute fun and cheer. It was only logical to assume so thanks to the wondrous feel of the sun and the soft cool of the breeze. And it was also the day that Hinata Hajime scored himself a date with the girl he certainly had feelings for. Well, it wasn't fully established as a date but one could definitely call it one.

So in all seriousness, he had every right to think that nothing could possibly go wrong.

In fact, as the hours went on, it only seemed to get better.

He glanced down at his friend, scratching the back of his head as she furiously mashed the buttons of her PSP without taking a moment to even breathe.

"Nanami-" he started.

Her eyes only narrowed, gazing intently at the final boss.

He sighed, but his smile was still there. Carefully, he raised his hand and pointed to his left.

"There's an arcade."

Instantly, the device in her hand chimed an aggressive, "Victory!"

The gamer lowered her console and turned her head, her soft pink eyes brightening at the building before her.

She tugged at Hinata's sleeve, urging him to follow as she quickly headed towards the arcade.

"Hinata," she breathed excitedly. "They just installed the newest racing game!"

He beamed at her excitement, content with her expression and allowed himself to be dragged.

They should've noticed it then. But even if they did, making contact with it was probably engraved deeply into the skin of their fate.

In other words, they couldn't have avoided it even if they wanted to.

Because in the same arcade was Junko Enoshima who was a little busy blowing up zombies with her plastic gun.

The fashionista squealed in delight at the explosion of blood and gore, splattering against the screen of her game.

She paused, slamming the plastic gun back into its holster with a bland expression.

"Boring." She blinked, playing with the tips of her pigtails. "Geez, a room full of games and they're all so repetitive! Boring, boring, boring-"

She was suddenly cut off by the gentle rush of wind that entered the arcade, splashing onto her with its chill.

She stopped, her sky colored eyes quietly resting on familiar faces.

"What should we play first?" Hinata asked, smiling brightly.

He looked down at his gamer friend, thrilled with the fact that she was still stubbornly holding onto him.

The young girl tilted her head, focusing on the games around her.

She seemed to be deep in thought, puffing her cheeks gently as she gripped onto his sleeve, ready to pull him in whatever direction necessary.

 _She's cute when she's thinking._

Hinata flushed at the thought that crossed his mind and quickly cleared his throat.

"How about that one, Na-"

A voice cut through his words like a steel knife, sending a strange shiver down his spine.

He turned around, his eyes slightly widening.

Junko was walking towards them, flipping back her golden locks with a wide grin.

"Ohhhhh! I know you two!" she giggled. "Chiaki Nanami and Hinata Hajime, right?"

The gamer let go of Hinata's sleeve, tilting her head and giving the fashionista a nod.

"Y-Yeah…" Hinata chuckled nervously. "You're Junko Enoshima, right? The Super High School Level Fashionista. You're quite famous."

She squealed, earning a jump from the boy.

"You're such a flatterer, Hinata!" she laughed, patting his back with enough force to make him stumble forward. "Famous?! I guess so! I mean, a blonde haired model with a sexy bust size is enough to get me famous! After all, looks is the only thing that matters in this world!"

Hinata stared at her, taken aback by her comment. His eyes were still wide as he struggled to form the right words.

"N-No, that's not what I meant-! I was just…no, I was just…what I meant was that-"

The model giggled, enjoying the look of panic flickering across Hinata's face. She gave him another hard smack against his back, her pigtails bouncing with delight as she tilted her head.

"I was kidding, Hinata! Geez, you're so stiff and easy to pick on! No wonder why you're in the reserve course! So bland and boring!" she narrowed her eyes, licking her lips with a strange sense of danger. "And predictable."

Another shiver snaked down his spine, her words slicing into his heart rather painfully.

"Oh…I guess…" he mumbled.

"Hinata," Nanami's own voice drifted through the air, softly calming him down. "Let's go play that game over there."

Eager to leave the model, he nearly sprinted towards whatever game she gestured at.

But before the gamer could follow, the same cold laugh sliced through the atmosphere.

"Chiaki Nanami," Junko started, smiling widely. "Your friendship with that boring idiot is pretty lame."

Pink eyes clashed with blue, an odd chill descending down onto the two.

"I do not think Hinata is lame." The other replied softly.

"I didn't ASK if you thought HE was lame, bitch." The model snapped harshly. "I said your FRIENDSHIP with him is lame."

A brief interlude of silence curtained down between them.

"Our friendship is not lame."

"No? I might need to rephrase that." She whispered lowly. "It's weak. A single word from me might even be able to rip it apart."

Another dangerous shiver ran down Nanami's back, letting its icy fingers leave goosebumps.

"It's not weak either." She stood her ground as best as she could, giving Junko a look of bland determination. "Hinata would never-"

"Bullshit."

The gamer clamped her mouth shut, a dreadful vibe of fear gurgling within the pits of her stomach.

The model was merely only inches away from her face now, her blue eyes glinting against the lights above with malicious intent. She smiled and Nanami felt her nerves twinge with anxiousness.

"Can you really say that Hinata won't leave you for something greater?" she whispered. "Can you really hold onto the belief that he holds onto this friendship as strong as you? Because here's the golden question, miss ultimate gamer." She giggled, her minty breath tickling Nanami's nose.

She leaned in, her lips right next to Nanami's ear, "What if Hinata was given the one thing he wanted the most, and it changed everything you knew about him?"

That didn't make any sense.

Nanami stood still, clutching her PSP with an iron grip.

That question made no sense but for some reason, Junko made it sound like she knew something she didn't.

"What do you mean?"

"It was just a hypothetical question, silly gamer!" the fashionista exclaimed, throwing back her head as she laughed. "Don't take it too seriously or it might explode your brain! Not that I would care but I'm sure wiping up blood is a pain!"

Nanami stood still, too stunned to notice the strange dust of insanity that flickered across Junko's eyes.

The blonde turned around, flipping back her hair with a giggle and leaving the building.

The gamer stood there for a couple of more seconds before flinching at the random touch on her shoulder. She turned around, blinking at Hinata's confused expression.

"Nanami?" he smiled awkwardly. "Are you okay? I played a few games but you never came so I just…got worried…" he trailed off, noticing how pale the gamer had become. "Hey, seriously, are you okay? Did Junko do something?"

A moment passed before Nanami found her voice again.

She shook her head, "I'm fine…"

But that wasn't enough to convince Hinata otherwise. He took her hand, plastering an encouraging smile on his face as he pointed at the game with the plastic guns.

"Wanna kill some zombies?"

A gentle but bright smile immediately spread across the gamer's face as she nodded quickly.

Satisfied with her response, he gave her his own warm smile.

But there was something strange with the way the shadows outside were behaving. It seemed to bend and shift into figures that weren't supposed to be there, like the outline of a human being – watching them.

Hinata shook his head, pushing the thought away.

He was probably just imagining things.

By the time four hours rolled around, Hinata had already played the zombie game at least three times, lost the racing game twice, lost the dancing game six times, and lost pacman at least seven times.

Nanami definitely had the energy to keep going but must've caught the exhausted look in Hinata's eyes.

"We should go home." She said lightly.

"Huh? Yeah, haha, we should." He cleared his throat, trying to shake away the weariness and the soreness of his fingers. "You really are unbeatable, Nanami."

"Ah, you weren't so bad yourself." She blinked. "You just need 50 more years of practice."

"Are you trying to cheer me up?"

"I think so."

He groaned, running his fingers through his hair.

"I could never beat you in games."

She smiled gently at his comment, tapping away at her PSP again as they walked out of the arcade.

But something seemed to cloud her thoughts, pinching into something ugly. Her combo attacks began to slow down as the dusty feeling of doubt settled in. She bit her lips, Junko's words tearing into her consciousness.

"Hinata," she whispered quietly, the warm rays of the sunset decorating her figure and giving her a nice blanket of orange.

"Hm?" he mumbled, strolling alongside her.

He was having an intense fight with himself at the moment. The sweet outline of gold that curved graciously around her, added a beautiful sparkle to her eyes. It was enough to make him burn scarlet.

"We're friends, right?"

He paused, blinking at her strange question.

"W-Why wouldn't we be?"

She didn't reply and the silence only began to suffocate him, viciously wrenching the oxygen from his lungs and squeezing his gut with a violent grip. His smile was beginning to fade, panic pounding furiously against his chest.

"Nanami-"

"Hinata, you won't change, right?" she asked, carefully lowering her console. "Our friendship is strong enough so that you…don't have to change, right?"

He gave her a puzzled look, unsure of what to say.

"I don't know what you mean…"

She paused, her mouth slightly parted as if she had more to say but instead, slowly sealed them shut and glanced down at the pavement.

"I don't know what I mean either…" she said quietly – almost too quiet for Hinata to hear.

They stood there in the middle of the sidewalk, listening to the rustle of the leaves and the quite melody of the birds.

Hinata didn't realize how hard he was digging his nails into the palm of his hands until a sharp throb jolted his nerves. He glanced down, noticing a blob of red forming at the opening of his wound.

"Sorry." The gamer finally said. "It was just a random thought, I think."

"Yeah…" the other coughed, desperately wanting to shatter the awkward tension.

Another stressful moment passed.

"I had fun today, Nanami."

The girl nodded, giving him a warm but small smile.

"Mmm…"

After walking down the sidewalk for a couple of minutes, Hinata stopped and glanced at his right.

"Well, my house is that way so I guess this is where we split up."

The gamer nodded, the calculated echo of buttons drifting through the air as she battled another boss on her PSP.

Hinata gave an exasperated sigh, but a small grin quirked onto his lips.

"Don't play too much games at night! You need to sleep."

"Oh right, sleeping…" she lulled, hitting the pause button for just a moment. "I haven't slept for four days so I might need to do that today..."

Four days?!

He gave himself a nervous chuckle. That kind of scared him.

"Yeah, you definitely need to sleep." He sighed before tapping her console. "Or I'm going to have to confiscate this."

She instantly leapt back, hugging her game with genuine seriousness. She narrowed her eyes, folding her body into a defensive stance.

"I won't let you!" she said as loud as her quiet voice would allow. "Or I'll use my burning dragon uppercut on you!"

Hinata wasn't sure what that really was but he was sure it was some sort of dangerous gaming reference.

He laughed, giving her a casual wave.

"I was joking, I was joking!" he assured her, but then noticed how she was slowly inching away from him. "Really, no, Nanami! I was kidding! Don't run away!"

She was running away, still holding her console close to her chest.

"I'll see you tomorrow, Hinata!" She exclaimed in between short breaths as she jogged down the street.

He sighed, smiling warmly at her departure.

"See you tomorrow, Nanami." He chuckled into the wind.

He waited until the blob of pink and purple faded into the distance before turning around.

Almost out of reflex, Hinata nearly screamed at the sudden intrusion of pretty blue eyes.

No, they were pretty but something villainous was swimming behind that pure façade.

"Junko Enoshima?!" he breathed, realizing how raspy his voice suddenly sounded.

The fashionista chuckled, flipping back her golden tresses with a dramatic sigh.

"Ohhhh! So smart! You remembered my name!" she winked, giggling as she did.

He shook his head, confusion and suspicion racing through his gut.

"What are you-? How did you know-? Where did you come from?!"

"What a stupid question! But then again, it's to be expected from a reserve course student!"

He ignored the way she drenched the words "reserve course student" in disgust, and instead, gave her a skeptical expression.

"You didn't answer my question."

She tilted her head, fluttering her long eyelashes almost as if she was mocking him.

"What question?"

"Don't play dumb with me! My last question!"

"Oh! Where did I come from? That question?"

"Yes!" he hissed.

She blinked again, that same clueless expression still painted on her face. She gestured to the right.

"From over there."

She was frustrating. She was the kind that made him want to pull his hair out.

"Okay, I'll be more specific. How did you know where I was?!"

She smiled innocently, giving him a colorful laugh.

"I was waiting for you, that's how!"

He stopped, feeling every ounce of his frustration melt away, and in its place came the cold shiver of quiet fear.

"Why?" he breathed. "And you waited for me for…four hours?"

She scoffed, shoving her dainty fingers in his face with an irritated smile.

"As if I would wait for that long for some loser like you! No! I went and got my nails done then styled up my hair a bit! Oh and I also got a new phone! Wanna see?!"

"No!" he snapped, shoving her hand away. "What's wrong with you?! Why did you wait for me then?! What the hell do you want from me?!"

She blinked.

He wished she replied sooner because in that brief moment, all he could sense was that sinister touch of icy peril.

Something was clogging his throat, ripping his chest apart. Those orbs of sky blue was beginning to morph into a raging ocean, wrapping its waves around his ankles and forcing him to choke on its vicious waters.

Junko Enoshima smiled.

Junko Enoshima was scaring him.

"Oh, I know people like you." She beamed, patting his head with a melodious giggle. "You're suuuuuch a typical person, y'know! ALL of the reserve course students are juuuust like you!"

He felt a pang of pain cutting into his chest.

"Hey-" he started almost angrily.

"You don't have any special talents, do you?" she grinned, tilting her head. "You're just plain, old, average Hinata Hajime. A person doomed to have nothing and never gain anything! No, wait!" she spun around on her heels then stopped to look at him, whipping out her hand in a dramatic fashion and pointing at his nose. "You did gain something! You gained Chiaki Nanami! That's right! The ultimate gamer, right?! The Super High School Level Gamer! The ultimate superstar in Hinata's dull, treacherous life!"

He opened his mouth again, desperately trying to get his own say into this wild conversation. But she persisted with her own remarks, her words raging on like a typhoon.

"But alas," she cried. "Despite gaining such a special friend, Hinata Hajime has nothing to give her in return! Boring, average Hinata has absolutely nothing! No talents, no authority, no power, nothing! He has absolutely nothing! So can one really say that Chiaki Nanami, who has earned the title of SHSL Gamer, really deserve the worthless friendship of Hinata Hajime?!"

Hinata flinched, her words causing his head to spin excessively.

She raised her arms, forming an X. She giggled, giving him a flirtatious wink.

"Nope!" she cheered. "He doesn't deserve her at all! He's nothing to be proud of at all! His friendship is like trash – WORTHLESS! Hinata Hajime is worthless! His friendship with Chiaki Nanami is absolutely, most certainly, completely worthless! And who's to say that Nanami definitely thinks the same thing-"

"Stop it!" he snapped, his eyes wide with anger and confusion. "Nanami would never see our friendship like-"

"She doubted it though, didn't she?"

Instantly, Hinata felt the sharp pierce of a dagger twist its way deep into his heart. He stared at Junko, realizing the accuracy of her words.

"She doubted this friendship of yours, didn't she?"

"How did you-? She…she didn't doubt it…she was just…"

"Making sure?"

"No! She was…" he shook his head, his eyes flickering towards the floor. "She was…"

Junko smiled, blue eyes glittering with victory.

"No, I get it!" she smiled. "Denial is the first step in all of this, don't worry! She may see you as completely _HOPELESS_ but that's okay! Because after all, she accepts you for who you are, right?!" she gave a loud laugh.

"I…I'm trying my best to be her friend! I-"

"Oh but your best isn't enough." The model blinked, planting a hand on her hip. "And you know it, don't you, Hinata? Deep down, you just agreed with everything I said. You know deep down that you really aren't good enough for her. And you're right. A boring, predictable, average, talentless boy like you could never be held in the same regard as the SHSL Gamer. You know that."

All the bottled up insecurities came surging forth from the dark recesses of Hinata's mind. It seemed to be drowning him, whispering words of doubt and gloom into his ear, scratching at his brain and shattering his confidence. Everything he's worked up for till now began to crumble in his hands, breaking down into dust.

And Junko Enoshima caught that look of despair on his face.

Licking her lips, the fashionista leaned forward, masking her excitement with a pitiful expression.

"Oh, but there's a way to solve this, y'know."

Hinata's hands twitched.

"Hope's Peak Academy is always trying to help their students, even the worthless kinds." She began to tug at the tips of her hair, her smile only widening. "Did you hear about this one, Hinata? Well, you probably didn't since its classified or something, but our school is having this whole experiment thing."

"Experiment thing?" he repeated slowly.

"An experiment where they give a talentless student ALL THE TALENTS!"

Green eyes began to widen with each second, slowly raising his head to stare intently into the model's own pool of baby blue eyes.

"All…the…talents?" he mumbled.

"All of them!" She smiled brightly. "Imagine that, Hinata! Having every single talent you could ever dream of! Imagine it! Imagine the happiness, the freedom you'd feel! Imagine how much you'd smile, how carefree you would be! Every test would be a breeze, every obstacle would be like an ant!" she paused then spun around, squealing with the same thrill that Hinata was beginning to feel. "Imagine the pride that Nanami would feel once you showed her all of your talents!"

He was excited now, his eyes glimmering with hope and anticipation.

She was right! She was right! She was right!

Nanami would be happy! He would be happy!

All of the suffering, all of the longing, all of his insecurities would disappear if he just had a talent! So to have ALL of them would be like paradise!

He could finally be satisfied with his life! He could finally be worth something!

He could finally be someone Nanami deserves!

It was an experiment; it could bring consequences. But there was that strong desire in his heart, pushing him towards the one thing he wanted in life. He just wanted to be happy, to be held with pride, to not be called worthless. He wanted to stand out from the crowd.

This was his chance, wasn't it?

The hope of becoming something great.

It would be a once in a lifetime opportunity for someone like him.

And the smile that Nanami would have when she saw just how amazing he had become…

Yes, he would do it. Having all the talents would be more than enough just for this one dream.

"The experiment!" he snapped, grabbing Junko by the shoulders. "Where do I sign up?! Who's in charge of it?!"

"Why don't you go just ask the principal?" Junko giggled. "You can do that first thing in the morning tomorrow or maybe even give him a call today!"

He smiled brightly, his expression lighting up like the sun itself.

"Thank you! Thank you so much!"

And with that, he took off, sprinting towards his house with a burst of vigor and with the hope for something great.

The fashionista stood alone in the middle of the sidewalk, the sun finding its home behind the horizon. Streetlamps began to flicker on, tearing its rays through the inky canvas of the night. Blue eyes gleamed underneath the thick blanket of the sky as she turned around to head home.

"Hinata Hajime," she smiled gently. "So _predictable._ "


End file.
